This invention relates generally to material handling systems and specifically to systems in which a towing vehicle is used to transport a plurality of material-supporting units in a train. Such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,084 assigned to the assignee of this application. The present invention constitutes an improvement over the apparatus shown in the aforementioned patent.
Material handling systems of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,084 have been used satisfactorily in the past. However, conventional towing vehicles have not been ideally adaptable to hook-up and transport of material-supporting lorries of the type here disclosed. As a result, hook-up of the vehicle and units often requires manual maneuvering of the units which, when the units are fully loaded, can be both difficult and time consuming. Furthermore, conventional towing vehicles have exhibited less than optimal control over the train due to the nature of conventional connection means on the vehicle and the first unit in the train, thus making movement in confined spaces either dangerous to surrounding furnishings or altogether impossible. Additionally, the cooperating configuration which allows the towing vehicle to locate almost entirely under a load-bearing lorry makes it possible to load both lorry and towing vehicle onto relatively small elevators.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide an improved material handling system utilizing customized towing vehicles and material-supporting units specifically adapted to circumvent problems associated with manual manipulation of loaded units. It is a further object to provide an improved means of joining the vehicle to the material-supporting units to increase maneuverability of a train of units.